WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — In Rome today, Pope Benedict XVI bid farewell to the Vatican becoming the first pontiff in six centuries to resign.

Here in Wilmington, Catholic school teachers are taking this opportunity to educate children on this history in the making and everything involved in choosing up with a new Pope.

Students at St. Mark Catholic School in Wilmington have questions about what happens now. The school’s principal says the students want to be a part in making history.

“We are constantly emailing each other every day with different websites and different forms of information that we can provide for the children, because it’s such a learning and teachable opportunity for our kids,” principal Mary Myers said.

Teachers have to explain to the children about why the pope resigned.

“We discussed what a very important person he is being the leader of the Catholic Church and how the Catholic Church is worldwide. It’s universal, and so it is a very, very big job, and when you are sick, it’s hard to do a big job,” second grade teacher Shelby Hamilton said.

Adopt-a-Cardinal is one way the children are learning about the process to find a new pope. Each students follow one particular cardinal to find out how they are moving in the process.

“They’ve asked just what it means,” second grade teacher Joel Peters said. “What will it mean for us, and what will it look like? What will the decision look like? What’s going to happen? They are excited about it.”

Now the attention turns to the upcoming conclave. That’s when Catholic cardinals from around the world meet in Rome to select the next pope.

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Veterans and residents are speaking out the impact of sequestration on North Carolina and on the US military.

Concerned Veterans for America held a town hall meeting at the VFW in Wilmington to energize the community to speak out about the sequester. The main discussion today was how federal budget cuts would affect national security.

The sequester deadline hits Friday. If leaders in Washington cannot reach a deal, big changes in federal spending are on the way.

“This is not a Democrat or Republican problem,” Concerned Veterans for America Regional Director Shawn Pattison said. “It is a spending problem. It goes much deeper than an across the board cut.”

With the feared budget cuts set to kick in, Concerned Veterans for America held a town meeting to energize the local conversation.

“These meetings are with the constituents,” Pattison said. “The people that elect our officials who lead us in Washington. It really helps to elevate the conversation to those who make those decisions.”

Concerned veterans and citizens alike came to the VFW for an open forum on sequester. Organizers say Wilmington’s rich population of service men and women was the perfect location to hold the meeting.

“They are some of the best people to speak up on these issues to really contribute with their experience, and so you have that resource of knowledge and experience as well as those who feel it differently than others,” Pattison said.

The community is urged to keep the conversation going by writing letters and making phone calls to their leaders in Washington.

Meanwhile in Washington, the Senate could not overcome the partisan divide today failing to approve either of two plans to help stop the sequester.